Johannesburg - December is the second busiest time of the year for air travel as millions make their way through airports to the coast, back home, on holiday or abroad.
That’s not to mention having to contend with the thousands more making their way to South Africa.
Here’s Flight Centre’s guide to navigating South Africa’s airports in the festive season:
n Make sure you have your passport, with the necessary visas, with you if travelling abroad.
n If you are travelling abroad with children, ensure you have their unabridged birth certificates. If you are travelling alone with a child or children, you also need to have a consent affidavit (not more than three months old) from the other parent, authorising you to enter or depart from South Africa with the children. If you’re travelling locally with minors, make sure you are in possession of their birth certificates/IDs.
n Ensure your cabin baggage is not too heavy or bulky. You are allowed one bag (weighing not more than 7kg and with the dimensions of 56cm x 36cm x 23cm) and one slimline bag per passenger. Hand baggage limits are often strictly enforced during peak times and packed flights.
n Do not carry any liquids or creams of more than 100ml (including bottled water) in your hand luggage if you are taking an international flight as these will be confiscated.
n Check in online 24 hours beforehand so you can select your seat or in case you happen to be unavoidably delayed. Ensure you arrive at the airport three hours before your international flight is due to depart. Allow two hours for a domestic flight.
n Do not leave your bags unattended as this may spark a security lockdown and lead to you being detained for questioning. Also, never joke about a bomb while at the airport.
n If you’re flying Mango/SAA, make sure you have the credit card you paid with in your possession. If someone else paid for your flight, ensure you have a copy of their credit card.
n Ensure your name on your ticket is spelt correctly as you will not be allowed on the flight if it is incorrect.
n Make your way to your boarding gate as soon as possible. Delays are often caused by passengers who do not make it to the boarding gate on time, causing them to be bumped from the flight.
n Do not carry any sharp objects in your hand baggage as these will be confiscated.
n Take your laptop out while you’re in the queue for security to avoid holding up the line. And make sure your laptop is charged as at some airports they ask you to switch it on to prove it is real.
n Tie a ribbon round your luggage so you can easily identify it on the baggage carousel.
n Pack a change of clothing, especially underwear and a toothbrush, in your hand luggage in case your checked baggage goes missing or gets delayed. Also, carry a change of warm clothing in your hand luggage (hat, coat, gloves) if you are travelling to the northern hemisphere.
n Make sure you have an international driving permit as well as your South African driver’s licence if you are renting a car abroad.
n Ensure you have the necessary transit visas. For example, if you are travelling to the US via Europe and have no plans to leave the airport, you don’t require a Schengen visa. But if you plan to leave the airport, you do. If you are travelling to Canada via the US, you need a transit visa.
n Carry a black pen so you can fill in the visa forms while you stand in the immigration queue or wait to disembark.
n If you do not want to incur exorbitant roaming costs on your cellphone while travelling abroad, check with your service provider what you need to do to either only allow SMS roaming or access only wi-fi while overseas. Do this before you leave South Africa.
Saturday Star